Psalm 47

Omnes gentes, plaudite

O clap your hands together, all ye people *

O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

For the Lord is high, and to be feared *

he is the great King upon all the earth.

He shall subdue the people under us *

and the nations under our feet.

He shall choose out an heritage for us *

even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved.

God is gone up with a merry noise *

and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

O sing praises, sing praises unto our God *

O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

For God is the King of all the earth *

sing ye praises with understanding.

God reigneth over the heathen *

God sitteth upon his holy seat.

The princes of the people are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham *

for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Psalm 48

Magnus Dominus

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised *

in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill.

The hill of Sion is a fair place, and the joy of the whole earth *

upon the north-side lieth the city of the great King; God is well known in her palaces as a sure refuge.

For lo, the kings of the earth *

are gathered, and gone by together.

They marvelled to see such things *

they were astonished, and suddenly cast down.

Fear came there upon them, and sorrow *

as upon a woman in her travail.

Thou shalt break the ships of the sea *

through the east-wind.

Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God *

God upholdeth the same for ever.

We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God *

in the midst of thy temple.

O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the world’s end *

thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Let the mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad *

because of thy judgements.

Walk about Sion, and go round about her *

and tell the towers thereof.

Mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses *

that ye may tell them that come after.

For this God is our God for ever and ever *

he shall be our guide unto death.

Psalm 49

Audite haec, omnes

O hear ye this, all ye people *

ponder it with your ears, all ye that dwell in the world;

High and low, rich and poor *

one with another.

My mouth shall speak of wisdom *

and my heart shall muse of understanding.

I will incline mine ear to the parable *

and shew my dark speech upon the harp.

Wherefore should I fear in the days of wickedness *

and when the wickedness of my heels compasseth me round about?

There be some that put their trust in their goods *

and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.

But no man may deliver his brother *

nor make agreement unto God for him;

For it cost more to redeem their souls *

so that he must let that alone for ever;

Yea, though he live long *

and see not the grave.

For he seeth that wise men also die, and perish together *

as well as the ignorant and foolish, and leave their riches for other.

And yet they think that their houses shall continue for ever *

and that their dwelling-places shall endure from one generation to another; and call the lands after their own names.

Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour *

seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish; this is the way of them.

This is their foolishness *

and their posterity praise their saying.

They lie in the hell like sheep, death gnaweth upon them, and the righteous shall have domination over them in the morning *

their beauty shall consume in the sepulchre out of their dwelling.

But God hath delivered my soul from the place of hell *

for he shall receive me.

Be not thou afraid, though one be made rich *

or if the glory of his house be increased;

For he shall carry nothing away with him when he dieth *

neither shall his pomp follow him.

For while he lived, he counted himself an happy man *

and so long as thou doest well unto thyself, men will speak good of thee.

He shall follow the generation of his fathers *

and shall never see light.

Man being in honour hath no understanding *

but is compared unto the beasts that perish.